READING, Pa. — Brock Huntzinger doesn’t fare any better pitching against Reading than his Portland Sea Dogs teammates in the Phillies’ home park.

Huntzinger, a 23-year-old right-hander, was solid through five innings before things fell apart quickly in the sixth as the Phillies scored five runs on the way to a 7-4 victory Tuesday night.

Shortstop Ryan Khoury hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning for the Sea Dogs. He also set a franchise record for most games played, at 305.

The loss was the 11th straight by the Sea Dogs (51-70) in Reading, where they haven’t won since opening day of the 2010 season when Felix Doubront was on the mound. Vance Worley, now one of the top rookie pitchers in the National League, took the loss for the Phillies in Portland’s 1-0 victory.

Since then, it’s been nothing but heartache for the Sea Dogs in Reading, where they lost their final seven games last season and the first four this season.

And the misery might not be over: The Sea Dogs are scheduled to play six more times at FirstEnergy Stadium, starting with a doubleheader tonight.

“We’ll have to try to change that,” Khoury said. “We’ve got three more here (this week) and hopefully that’ll change. We’ve got to get that out of the way before we leave here.”

Huntzinger began his season with a loss to the Phillies at Hadlock Field on April 8, when he yielded eight hits and six runs in 32/3 innings.

He didn’t do much better this time, giving up three homers, including a three-run drive by Tuffy Gosewisch that capped a five-run sixth and gave the Phillies (61-60) a 7-1 lead.

Huntzinger (5-11) gave up solo homers to Brent Clevlen and Carlos Rivero in the second and third innings but settled down after that and trailed just 2-1 heading into the sixth.

A former third-round pick of the Red Sox, Huntzinger had pitched better recently but remained winless in six starts since July 6. He allowed seven runs as his ERA rose to 6.60.

The Sea Dogs got just four hits off Tyler Cloyd through six innings but heated up against the Reading bullpen. After Khoury’s two-run homer in the seventh, they loaded the bases in the eighth, but didn’t score.

Khoury doubled and scored on Alex Hassan’s single in the ninth.

“We were just battling,” said Khoury. “We struggled at the start of the game but as a whole, we started seeing the ball better. We were just trying to battle and get base runners on. One hit here or there and it could’ve been a different game.

“Cloyd definitely spotted up and he had that cutter-slider thing working. He was throwing strikes and keeping the ball around the zone.”

 

NOTES: Matt Rusch, a 28-year-old right-hander, was signed by the Boston Red Sox and assigned to Portland. He had been pitching in the Can-Am League for Quebec, where he went 6-4 with a 2.99 ERA in 15 starts. Rusch took the roster spot of right-hander Alex Wilson, who was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket. …

Reynaldo Rodriguez was activated from the disabled list and started at first base for the Sea Dogs.